A Formal Redress
by Stormy1x2
Summary: Set during Diamond and Pearl. Does Professor Oak ever actually check out what pokemon Ash has seen on his journey over the years, via his pokedex? Maybe he should. Second story in the 'Rich and Intrepid Souls' fic line.


**Title:**A Formal Redress

**Author: **Stormy1x2

**Word Count:** 2616

**Warnings: **None

**Spoilers:** None, really. All of the 'special' legendary Pokemon from the series and movies are well-advertised.

**Summary:** Does Professor Oak ever actually notice what Ash has seen through his pokedex?? Part of the 'Rich and Intrepid Souls'-verse.

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--

Tracey flinched as another crash came from Professor Oak's lab. Feverish muttering could be heard through the doorway, but Tracey had learned the hard way that he should just stay out of the way. Who knew a file full of papers could be thrown hard enough to hurt?

Another crash, a high-pitched yelp and then silence. Tracey looked nervously at the door, but then the mutterings started up again, and he breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Tracey!"

The Professor was shouting from the lab. Tracey had relaxed too soon, obviously. "Yes sir?"

"Have you gotten through yet?"

"No, Professor. Though I just spoke to the Nurse Joy at Alamos town and she confirmed--" Another crash, and then the Professor stuck his head through the door.

"Keep trying then!"

"Yes sir!" Tracey checked his map of the Sinnoh region, and located the town after Alamos. It was Hearthome. Checking the address of the Pokemon facility, he cross-referenced it with his list of Pokemon Center phone numbers. Tracing his finger down the list, he didn't notice the front door opening.

"Knock, knock?"

Tracey shrieked as a finger poked him in the back, whirling around and throwing the handset straight up. Gary Oak blinked at him curiously, before reaching out and casually snagging the phone out of midair.

"Someone's jumpy," Gary observed, grinning. He held up the receiver. "I believe this is yours?"

"Didn't anyone teach you to knock?" Tracey groused. He started punching in numbers. "The professor had a perfectly good doorbell installed for just such an occasion."

"Yeah, well, I'm not about to press the hind end of a Stantler," Gary said with a snort. "Besides, I'm family."

"It was a novelty gift from Ms Ketchum," Tracey said in defense of the Professor's doorbell of a raised Stantler tail with a button 'strategically' placed beneath it. "And family or not, some warning would be nice. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I get weekends off now, and I told Gramps I'd come back and visit more often." Gary shrugged and winked. "Just call me the dutiful grandson."

"I have a whole list of things I'd like to call you, but I have a job to do," Tracey grumbled. "Hang on a sec. Nurse Joy?" He turned around to the screen as it patched him through. "Hi! I'm Tracey Sketchet, calling on behalf of Professor Oak. We're looking for a trainer from Pallet Town, who might have passed through your city. Ash Ketchum?"

Gary listened with interest as Nurse Joy told Tracey that Ash had passed through quite some time ago, and offered to forward on a message. Tracey told her to tell Ash to call the Professor at his lab as soon as possible.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Tracey said, and hung up the phone. Reaching over to his photocopied map of the Sinnoh region, he crossed out 'Hearthome.'

"What's going on?" Gary asked curiously. "Why are you looking for Ash?"

"Well..." Tracey looked nervously back at the lab, which had gone suspiciously quiet. "The professor would like to talk to Ash about--"

"TRACEY!"

Tracey snapped to attention and scurried over to the doorway. "Professor?"

"_Well?!"_

"Um... no luck yet, sir--"

"Keep trying! Blast it all, that boy is getting a cell phone for his next birthday. Now, those papers have to be here somewhere..."

Gary watched as Tracey squawked and ducked, a file folder being launched through the doorway where his head had been just a moment before. Muttering started back up inside, and Tracey scrambled back towards the 'command post' he'd set up. "Gotta find the next town..."

Gary glanced at the map. "Veilstone," he offered.

Tracey's eyes lit up. "Thanks!" He reached for the phone.

Gary snatched it away. "Hang on a second."

"Give me that!" Tracey hissed. "I need to find Ash before the Professor has himself a heart attack!"

"What's all the fuss about?"

"It's his pokedex," Tracey said quietly, throwing a wary look back at the lab door. "The professor wants to verify that it's in perfect working condition."

Gary blinked again. "Okay, you stumped me." He handed the phone back to Tracey who immediately began punching in the number for the Pokemon Center in Veilstone City. "Care to explain in more detail, please?"

"Ash sent his updated pokedex information to the Professor about two weeks ago," Tracey told him. "The professor was busy so he didn't get around to checking it right away. But he did two days ago, and ever since then, he's been going _crazy_!"

"Why?"

"Apparently Ash has been seeing some really rare pokemon," Tracey said. "Rare to the point of extinction, rare as in, no one has seen them before, except through visions and dreams with psychic pokemon. The professor thought it had to be a joke at fist, and tried calling Ash but he's been really hard to get a hold of. But as the different pokemon on the list get confirmed with each call, he's been getting more and more ...animated."

"A polite way of saying crazy?" Gary grinned. "What pokemon has Grampa in such a tizzy?"

"ALL of them!" Tracey's eyes glowed. "If Ash's pokedex isn't malfunctioning, then he's seen practically everything from an Articuno to an entire colony of Unown! He's seen an Aerodactyl – and not the one from your lab! Not to mention his pokedex registering a Jirachi – do you know how unlikely that is for someone to see? Jirachi wakes up for exactly seven days every one thousand years! And that's not even what's got the professor all worked up."

"What does?"

"It's Ash's last remarkable entries." Tracey's voice was hushed with awe. "He registered a Palkia and a Dialgo!"

Gary did a double take at that and with good reason. Tracey had too, when he'd first heard the news. Palkia and Dialgo, the Gods of the Pokemon, unseen in their world by anyone except through psychic visions. They lived in alternate dimensions, which meant that for Ash to see one, either Ash had been transported to another dimension, or something very wrong had happened, to allow the two gods to appear in their world. "You're kidding!"

"I wish! Check it out!" Tracey handed him the paper he'd scribbled the confirmation details on. A beep sounded, signaling the call being picked up, and he turned to the screen to talk to the Nurse Joy at Veilstone, leaving Gary to his own devices.

--

Gary watched for a second, and then headed for his grandpa's laboratory. Inside, he quickly spotted his grandfather digging through one of the many boxes of old reports in his lab. Gary glanced at some of the documents that had been laid out for additional perusal, and was surprised to see his own name on some of them. "Grandpa?"

Professor Oak jumped in surprise, turning around to stare at his grandson. "Gary?"

"Just dropped by to see you as promised," Gary told him. "Tracey told me what's going on--"

"Did he find Ash?" the Professor asked anxiously.

"Not yet." Gary watched his grandfather scowl. "Grandpa, why are the reports I sent you, set up here?"

"I wanted to check a few details about the reanimation process you and Dara developed." The professor nodded at the papers. "I want to check and see if there are any similar processes that can occur naturally in the wild."

"In the wild?" Gary wrinkled his nose. "I don't think so. It was a long process that was actually started by some revolutionary scientists in the field. Dara and I just fine-tuned it and got really lucky with having such a well-preserved fossil to use it on."

"Well, that does complicate things now, doesn't it?" The professor grumbled and began poking through another box. "Still, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all, Omanyte and Omastar were considered to be extinct as well, but I was with Ash the day we found an entire colony of them, hiding away."

"You found what?" Gary gasped.

"A colony of Omanyte and Omastar," Professor Oak repeated patiently. "It was a wondrous find, but everyone involved, including Ash and his friends, vowed to keep it a secret, to protect the Pokemon, If everyone knew they existed, the lake there would be crawling with poachers and hunters."

"That's true," Gary acknowledged. "So what else did Ash's pokedex register that had you looking through my research?"

The professor held up a sheet of paper. "Among other things, a Kabutops, numerous Kabuto, a Crawdilly, a Lileep, a Cranidos, a Rampardos, and a Groudon."

"You're kidding." Gary took the paper from his grandfather, scanning it quickly. His eyes widened as he read some of the other names written on it. "Kyogure? Suicune? Deoxys? _Entei_? I didn't know Entei even existed outside of fairytales!"

"I thought it was a made-up Pokemon as well, but I happened to see that one myself." The Professor shrugged in a, 'what can I say' kind of manner.

Gary frowned, and continued. "Rayquaza?"

"That was confirmed by Professor Lund in LaRousse City. Apparently his son Tory, along with Ash, reunited the two Deoxys after battling Rayquaza."

"Lugia?"

"Shamouti Island," the professor said absently, reaching for a new box. "Confirmed by the chief of the Island and dozens of eye witnesses, including myself." Gary's jaw dropped. "That particular encounter also confirmed the Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno sightings." The professor chuckled. "I admit, I was a bit jealous, seeing Ash fly on Lugia's back. Oh, to be young again and have such adventures!"

Gary decided that he and his grandfather really did need to spend more time together. "Latios and Latias?"

"In Alto Mare. Confirmed by the curator of the Alto Mare Musuem, Lorenzo, and his daughter. Apparently poor Latios gave his life to save the city."

"It says here Ash saw a Mew." Gary frowned. "And a Mewtwo. That sounds familiar."

"Ash has seen Mew several times, according to the time keeper on his pokedex. The first time was three and a half years ago, on New Island off the coast of Kanto. The most recent was... let me see.." The professor grabbed another sheet filled with his scribblings over the past couple of days – notes as a result of seeing Ash's pokedex properly, for the first time since originally giving him one. "Allgau City, a kingdom near Kanto. That would also be where he met Lucario."

"I know about that story," Gary murmured, recalling his visit with Ash the year before. His grandfather stared at him.

"You do? How?"

"Ash told me." Gary looked back at the list. "Who confirmed Celibi?"

"That would be me as well."

"Grandpa!"

"What?" His grandfather looked innocent. "I had a life once too, you know."

"_Really_ got to spend more time together," Gary muttered. "This is ridiculous. Spiritomb? I thought that was just a story!"

"One based on real life, apparently. Ash, and Dawn, with Brock, were training in the Sinnoh region and accidentally broke the seal keeping it captive." The professor's brow furrowed. "The reports of how they captured it are a little unclear. Something about using the power of aura to reseal the tomb but I'm not sure what that means – some kind of psychic move perhaps, with a psychic pokemon in the area, I suppose."

Gary bit his lip, not wanting to get into those particular details. Ash didn't seem to want it known about his apparent aura powers, preferring to bury them. Whether or not Gary agreed with that decision didn't matter. "Ho'oh has two registered sightings."

"Indeed, and I could just kick myself." The professor shook his head. "Ash told me long ago that he'd seen a Ho'oh. At the time, he didn't know what it was, and pointed it out on my wall of extinct Pokemon posters. I presumed he'd been mistaken. If only I'd taken him seriously."

"You're taking him seriously now," Gary pointed out.

"That's true. And that's why it's vital I speak with Ash right away." Professor Oak frowned. "So much information, lost because he probably thought no one, outside of whoever was with him at the time, would believe him. These things need to be documented! Recorded! I need exact locations!"

"Why aren't you using the Poke'Nav features?"

"I am," the professor growled in frustration. "But a good many of Ash's Legendary sightings took place while he was touring the Kanto region, and the Navigational software at the time only tracked the general area. Route 22, for example. I need Ash to tell me the exact locations, so we can investigate further – maybe see a legendary pokemon for ourselves!"

Gary looked back at the paper, moving on down the list. "Darkrai?"

"Confirmed at the same time and place as Palkia and Dialgo, according to the timers, but I don't know if I'm willing to believe those last two can be confirmed."

"It was, though," Gary told him, holding out the paper Tracey had given him, and took great pleasure in watching his grandfather attempt to give birth to a litter of Skitty's right there in the lab. "Tracey was just on the phone with the Nurse Joy in Alamos Town. A scientist named Tonio--"

"I've heard of him, excellent researcher, if a bit muddle-headed," mused Professor Oak.

"--a balloon operator, Nurse Joy, a Baron, and over a dozen trainers including Ash, Dawn and Brock all confirmed the Palkia and Dialgos sightings."

Professor Oak's eyes got so big Gary was afraid they were going to pop. "Did Tracey speak to Ash?!"

"Not yet--"

"_ARRRGH!_ Valuable data is being lost!" the professor howled, and streaked towards the laboratory door again. "Tracey!"

"Not yet!"

"I am installing cell phone capabilities into the Pokedex," the professor fumed. "This is utterly ridiculous that a veritable fountain of information regarding legendary pokemon is walking around without a way of being contacted!"

Gary hid a snicker.

"Gary, I'm glad you're here. You can assist Tracey in tracking down Ash." The professor's glasses gleamed. "And I may need you to go out and find him in person – I want a first-hand account of some these sightings."

Gary raised an eyebrow. "Grandpa?"

"Yes?"

"I don't work for you, remember?"

His grandfather scowled playfully at him. "Would you really abandon your grandpa in his hour of need?"

"Truthfully? Yes." Gary grinned. "But as luck would have it, I'll be in Sinnoh next week anyway, doing some research at Lake Valor for Dara. There've been some mysterious sightings going on there."

"Perhaps another Legendary!" The professor's eyes positively sparkled. "You must send me every bit of information you dig up!"

"You know I will," Gary said soothingly. "Just stop getting all worked up – it can't be good for your blood pressure."

"My blood pressure's just fine, young man. Now, go out there and assist Tracey, _please_. We need to confirm Ash's pokedex before I can start updating the information!"

"Okay, okay!"

Gary watched his grandfather dig back into the boxes with a determination and fire he'd never seen before. Then he looked back down at the paper.

It was hard to take in. That little Ash from Pallet Town had seen so many amazing pokemon, and had so many adventures. Gary had to admit that like his grandfather, he was starting to feel a bit envious – after all, he'd never had quite the adventures that Ash always seemed to get mixed up in.

Still, he _was_ going to Sinnoh next week, and perhaps he'd get the chance to see a Legendary for himself. But in the meantime, he had a researcher to assist. With a grin, he headed back out into the living room to help Tracey track down the future Pokemon Master.

--

**End**

**Notes:** I did a lot of research for this fic. Many thanks to the creators of the Bulbapedia, at Bulbagarden dot net.

Also, I am fully aware that the pokenav's have cell phones in them in the game, but in the anime, the trainers all have to find pay phones to make calls.

Feedback appreciated. :D


End file.
